The present invention pertains generally to a watercraft lift or trailer.
Watercraft lifts are used to elevate a watercraft above the surface of a body of water for temporary or long-term storage when the watercraft is not being used. Watercraft trailers are often similar to watercraft lifts except that they can be attached to the trailer hitch of an automobile or truck and used to remove a watercraft from a body of water and to transport the craft to a different location over land.
Elevating a watercraft above the water is advantageous over mooring the watercraft to a dock or pier for several reasons. When a watercraft hull remains in a relatively still body of water over an extended period, aquatic organisms attach themselves to the hull, adversely affecting the hydrodynamics of the craft, and potentially fouling intakes, sensors, control surfaces, anchoring mechanisms, rudders and the like. These aquatic organisms, including various algae and barnacles, can be extremely difficult and expensive to remove.
Storing a watercraft on a lift is also advantageous in that it prevents the craft from being damaged as a result of moving back and forth against a dock or pier by wind or wave action. Elevating the craft also prevents extreme weather from causing the craft to become released from a dock. Removing a watercraft from a body of water using a trailer provides the same advantages. Trailers can also be used to store watercraft when not transporting them.
Known watercraft lifts typically include a frame supported by four adjustable legs for placement on the bottom of a lake or ocean, a cover, and a carriage assembly. The carriage assembly usually has a plurality of contact pads or skids which are constructed and arranged to support the hull of a given watercraft. A lifting mechanism attached to the frame of the lift allows the carriage assembly to be raised and lowered. This mechanism usually includes a winch and pulley system which is either manually operated or powered by a motor.
In operation, a watercraft is placed on such a watercraft lift by first lowering the carriage assembly below the surface of the water using the winch. Quite often, the unladen carriage assembly is too buoyant to easily lower below the surface of the water. This is especially true when the contact pads are made of wood or other buoyant material, or when the carriage assembly is made of a lightweight, hollow material such as tubular aluminum. Weights are often tied to the bottom of the carriage assembly to overcome this problem.
Once the carriage assembly is sufficiently submerged, the watercraft is carefully driven to a position above the carriage assembly. Care must be taken to avoid colliding the watercraft into the stationary upright members of the lift which support the carriage assembly and the cover. It is also important to prevent the watercraft from being positioned too far forward or rearward of the carriage assembly. It is usually necessary to obtain assistance from another person to properly position the watercraft over the carriage assembly and maintain that position until the carriage assembly can be raised enough to prevent the watercraft from moving. If the waters are rough, it can be very difficult to keep the watercraft in position and prevent the watercraft from being slammed against the stationary uprights while the carriage assembly is being raised, even with the aid of additional people.
Next, the carriage assembly is raised while the watercraft position is maintained above the carriage assembly. A manual winch is usually used to accomplish raising the assembly. The carriage assembly is raised until the watercraft is completely elevated above the surface of the water. Usually, it is desired to elevate the watercraft so that the propeller, as well as the hull, is above the water""s surface. This is a laborious process which often takes several minutes and countless revolutions of a winch wheel.
A motor operated winch necessarily requires a motive force. This is usually electric current, either direct current from a battery or alternating current from a shore source. There are obvious hazards associated with the use of electric current near the water. Though direct current is not as dangerous as alternating current, marine batteries are expensive and, unless used in conjunction with a recharging apparatus, such as an internal.combustion engine equipped with an alternator-generator, short lived. The use of an internal combustion engine to assist in operating the winch is inefficient and impractical.
Lowering the craft also presents problems. The winch wheel is turned to lower the craft toward the water. This cannot be performed from inside the watercraft. Therefore, it is necessary to leave the craft unmanned, or to solicit the aid of an additional person to operate the winch.
Once the winch wheel is turned, gravity assists in the lowering of the watercraft, making the winch wheel spin accordingly. It is possible for the winch wheel to gain momentum and achieve dangerous speeds. Often, a knob protrudes outwardly from the wheel to assist in raising the lift. If attached, this knob can create a hazard when the wheel is spinning while the watercraft is being lowered.
Once the carriage assembly is lowered and the watercraft is floating in the water, the watercraft must be held in place while the winch operator boards the watercraft. This can be hazardous, especially in inclement weather. Additionally, rough waters can present the same hazards that exist when raising the watercraft, namely, the watercraft can collide with the stationary upright supports while the watercraft operator takes the helm and gets the watercraft motor started. Care must also be taken when backing the watercraft out of the lift once the watercraft is started and underway.
Known trailers provide similar hazards. Typically, the trailer is backed into the body of water down a ramp or watercraft landing. Once the trailer is in place and partially submerged, the watercraft must be sailed or driven to a position over the trailer. Usually, at least one other person, not aboard the watercraft, is needed to maintain the watercraft in a proper position over the trailer while the watercraft is attached to the trailer and winched forward to a final position for trailering. This person must keep the watercraft in position over the trailer as long as the rear of the watercraft is still afloat. During inclement weather, waves can reek havoc on efforts to minimize unwanted transverse motion.
Next the automobile is started and driven forward, thereby pulling the trailer and watercraft out of the water. As the trailer and watercraft are pulled forward, the rear separation between the watercraft and the trailer, due to the flotation of the watercraft, is diminished and the watercraft eventually becomes completely supported by the trailer. It is critical that the watercraft be held in position over the trailer during this step, especially in the case of watercraft having a hull design other than a V-hull. Examples of such designs include tri-hulls, catamarans, and pontoons. If these watercraft are not maintained in the proper position over the trailer while the watercraft is being pulled from the water, it is possible for the watercraft to fall off the trailer, crashing into the ground and causing great damage to the hull and the trailer.
There is a need for a watercraft lift or trailer which is easy to operate. More specifically, there is a need for a watercraft lift which assists a craft operator in aligning the watercraft with the lift prior to elevating the lift.
There is also a need for a lift which does not present collision hazards, such as stationary upright supports, which can be easily impinged on by the watercraft during normal docking operations.
There is still a further need for a watercraft lift which provides a safe, efficient method of elevating a watercraft, preferably using the power of the watercraft to achieve the desired elevation. Such a lift should obviate the need for pulleys and a manually or motor operated winch and should avoid the various hazards associated therewith.
There is also a need for a lift which elevates a watercraft without requiring a carriage assembly which must be adequately submerged before the watercraft may enter the lift.
There is yet a further need for a watercraft lift which can be safely and easily operated by a single person. This person should be able to safely and effectively operate both the watercraft and the watercraft lift during both a lifting operation and a lowering operation. Preferably, the watercraft lift should be able to be operated from a control position within the watercraft.
There is also a need for a watercraft lift which is easy and safe to use even during inclement weather.
The present invention solves these needs and pertains generally to a system for elevating a watercraft above the surface of the water using the watercraft""s own power to provide the necessary lifting force. As the novel features of the system apply predominantly to the interface between a watercraft and the elevating structure of the present invention, those skilled in the art would readily find the teachings herein advantageously pertinent to both watercraft trailers and watercraft lifts.
In a preferred form, the present invention provides an elevating system having a ramp up which a watercraft can propel itself in order to lift itself out of the water. In one aspect, this ramp is mounted on a plurality of stationary uprights for placement in a body of water, near the shoreline, for use as a watercraft lift.
In another aspect, this novel ramp is used as a trailer and is mounted on at least one pair of wheels and has a trailer hitch at its forward end for attachment to a vehicle.
The preferred ramp system of the present invention has a support mechanism operably attached to the ramp for moveably receiving and supporting the watercraft on the ramp and allowing the watercraft to move forwardly and rearwardly relative to the ramp. This support mechanism is constructed and arranged to allow the propulsion mechanism of the watercraft to maintain operable contact with the water over a predetermined distance while the watercraft is travelling up the ramp. Preferably, in the case of a propeller-driven craft, the propeller is allowed to remain in a down position throughout the elevating process.
In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the support mechanism includes at least one pair of pivotable, axially stationary rails or spars, equipped with a plurality of rollers, constructed and arranged to support a watercraft hull. As a watercraft approaches these spars, contact is made with the rollers, which then direct the watercraft into the center of the mechanism, between the spars, and the watercraft rides these rollers upwardly to achieve an elevated position. The watercraft""s propulsion mechanism extends downwardly between the spars, thereby maintaining operable contact with the water.
In other aspects of the present invention, a catch arm is provided to prevent unwanted rearward movement of a watercraft down the ramp. The catch arm is rotatably attached at one end to the ramp assembly and has a limited predetermined range of motion. The catch arm is biased so that when released, the arm swings around its attachment point on the ramp from a released position to an engaged position. At the end of the arm opposite the attachment point, there preferably exists an engagement member operably attached to the arm, which makes positive contact with the watercraft and prevents rearward motion thereby due to gravity or forward acceleration of the ramp by a towing vehicle. In a preferred embodiment, this engagement member is a shaped mass of a durable material providing a low coefficient of friction against a hull, such that the member is able to move against the hull without imparting damage thereto, and in the most preferred form is a wheel rotatably attached to the end of the catch arm.
In still other aspects, the catch mechanism further includes a release arm operably attached to the catch arm for providing leverage for use in causing a downward or forward motion to the catch arm. Operation of the release arm preferably urges the catch arm towards the forward limit of its predetermined range of motion, thereby releasing the watercraft, allowing the craft to slide down the rollers on the rails and enter the body of water into which it is being launched.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a novel lift or trailer for a watercraft.
It is further an object of the invention to provide a novel lift or trailer for a watercraft which is easy to operate.
It is further an object of the invention to provide a novel lift or trailer for a watercraft which assists the operator in aligning the watercraft with the lift during the lifting operation.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a novel lift or trailer for a watercraft which does not provide any collision hazards against which a watercraft may impinge during a normal docking procedure.
It is further an object of the invention to provide a novel lift or trailer for a watercraft which safely and effortlessly elevates the craft above the surface of the water.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel lift for a watercraft which elevates the watercraft above the surface of the water without the use of a winch and pulley assembly.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a novel lift or trailer for a watercraft which utilizes the motive force of the watercraft to elevate the craft above the surface of the water.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel lift or trailer for a watercraft which partially or completely obviates the need for a winch.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel lift or trailer for a watercraft which can be safely and easily operated by a single person.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel lift or trailer for a watercraft which can be safely and easily operated by a single person from a control position within the watercraft.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a novel lift or trailer for a watercraft which can be safely and easily operated during inclement weather.
It is finally an object of the invention to provide a novel lift or trailer for a watercraft which avoids the problems associated with prior art watercraft lifts and trailers.
These and further objects and advantages of the present invention will become clearer in light of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments of this invention described in connection with the drawings.